‘Brave New World’?- Strike, Ready or Not!
Successful strategic air and ground attacks have gained great momentum. Cases in point: US 9/11 and Israel October 7th Strikes. Or, as US General Charles Flynn notes, ‘learning from Europe and the Middle East.”
General Flynn, how will the Army get to a ‘multi-domain operation’ when they can’t even control their missile strike alert command center? I remind you General, “An alert system is in place because of the potential proximity of Hawaii to North Korean missiles.”
U.S Nuclear Strategy is focused on “what Russia and China are willing to do.” But US is at a loss because neither country is “coming to the table.” Indeed, NATO’s expansion provoked RUSSIA. By the way, Turkey’s judgement call to not make a decision on Sweden before October appears to be timely, given the October 7th attack on Israel.
And still the US Nuclear Strategy discussion did little to offer strategies, only say still playing the waiting game to see “what is Russia and China willing to do.” US, forget willing, what are you needing and capable of doing?
On US ‘wish list’? “Attract brilliant young scientists to work on nuclear problems.” Really? You didn’t prepare or couldn’t get kids into STEM or CHIP design two decades ago, what makes you think there are enough young minds prepared to work on nuclear problems, let alone brilliant?
Paradox is what you face → Dependence on foreigners you don’t trust.
Speaking of trust, the Nuclear Strategy discussion was on capacity building not corruption, Menendez. So why ya show up? Besides, Aussies pay their debts with copper, NOT GOLD. Right, hear that for corrupt politicians who just got to ‘get your kicks,’ they came up with a garb called the ‘Kangaroo Kickstarter’ where a male can hide his gold stash in his jock pocket.
Aussies have long supported US with space exploration and NASA missions. Yet, Aussies have no nuclear facilities. U.S., will you really ‘train them on nuclear subs [until] their own production capacity?” Sure, why not? You trained the Kraines. Hmm, how’s that working for you? Kraine-Russia conflict going on two years.
Big question: Do the people ‘down under’ still hold the view of 1939, “Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand.” Aussies, will you follow your King, King Charles of the Kingdom of Britain?
But as the US or the Five Eyes (FVEY) concerns itself with the ‘rise of China’ is it misguidedly overlooking North Korea? One can only hope the West’s missiles are not misguided.
Nuclear Power v Nuclear Proliferation? Says General Flynn on nuclear deterrence, need to have ‘ability to train and operate in a contaminated environment.”
General, look around you! In a digitally live “World Political” Map, we see in real time nuclear power plants being reactivated or newly created. Question is, does the West actually expect DPRK, China, Russia or Iran to strike?
Blind planning is all US can do. So as they play around with the idea of ‘strategic deterrence’ or tried and failed sanctions on China, actualizing ‘command and control’ is nonexistent.
Army Strategy in Indo-Pacific Region? Says General Flynn, “it’s not hard, just have to get busy in doing it.” What has Defense been doing? China proposed its 2025 plan last decade!
You say that China’s ‘trajectory is very serious and dangerous.’ Question, is the US serious? Concern not only lies in the high dollar spending developing a ‘war operation,’ but as the General adds, a ‘kill chain.’ And yet, China is not the US only concern.
Sung-Yoon Lee, scholar of Korean and East Asian studies and a specialist on North Korea, sees “a nuclear North Korea is unlike a nuclear China or Russia. During the Cold War, neither Beijing nor Moscow faced an existential threat in the form of an alternate Chinese or Russian state.”
Point taken. But does the US face such a threat especially if the country which spends more on Defense than US is reported to be North Korea? Important to note six years ago the U.S. had “four broad strategic options for dealing with North Korea.”
May explain the West’s continued “maximum pressure campaign.” I posit this in my January 12, 2019 paper, Statecraft or Command Decision? Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Russian Federation, and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A short excerpt follows:
Does it seem fit for the West to sanction, issue ultimatums, and make threats on countries they do business with, or attempt to infiltrate – all on the basis of criminal accusations from the international community?
In the July/August of 2017 issue of The Atlantic, Mark Bowden notes, “I spoke with former officials from the White House, the National Security Council, and the Pentagon . . . [and] learned that the U.S. has four broad strategic options for dealing with North Korea and its burgeoning nuclear program.”
The following is a brief summary of those options outlined by Bowden and my highlighted questions/comments:
1. Prevention: A crushing U.S. military strike to eliminate Pyongyang’s arsenals of mass destruction, take out its leadership, and destroy its military. [Iraq WMD approach?]
2. Turning the screws: The goal would be to leave Kim Jong Un in power, but force him to abandon his pursuit of nuclear ICBMs. [How did U.S.- Iran Deal work out?]
3. Decapitation: Removing Kim and his inner circle, most likely by assassination, and replacing the leadership with a more moderate regime willing to open North Korea to the rest of the world. [Will the U.S. be the one to implement this “moderate regime,” subcontract it out, or leave it to the people like in Libya?]
4. Acceptance: The hardest pill to swallow—acquiescing to Kim’s developing the weapons he wants, while continuing efforts to contain his ambition. [It appears the U.S. has taken a big gulp]
Today, as we approach 2024, the Biden administration is no different. US, unlike your enemies, veil threats do become you.
Power on the button, will it be the U.S. or will it be Revenge of “Rapucinni’s Daughter”? North Korea Nuclear Rising Power in the Eye of Five.
Think about that for a sec. End of Japan’ rule over Korea was the beginning of DPRK.
Will the end of ? rule be the beginning of another’s rule OR the FINALE!!!
“Indeed, unless we choose to decentralize and to use applied science…we have only two alternatives to choose from: either a number of national, militarized totalitarianism, having as their root the terror of the atomic bomb and as their consequence the destruction of civilization; . . . or else one supranational totalitarianism…resulting from rapid technological progress in general and the atomic revolution.” – Aldous Huxley,1932, 1946, Brave New World
